Gold edges down, falling ETFs sap interest

Gold inched lower on Thursday, hovering below a 1-week high hit earlier this week, as firm equities sapped interest in the precious metal, which has seen steady outflows on exchange-traded funds.

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Gold shrugged off news the Russian Federation raised its gold reserve for a fifth straight month in March and Turkey added to its holdings for a fourth month. FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell USD 2.14 an ounce to USD 1,428.66 by 0045 GMT. Gold sank a combined USD 225 on April 12 and 15 in a sell-off that surprised ardent gold investors and bulls.
* US gold was at USD 1,428.10 an ounce, up USD 4.40.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.38 percent to 1092.98 tonnes on Wednesday from 1097.19 tonnes on Tuesday. The current holdings are at multi-year lows.
* Billionaire investor John Paulson told investors on Wednesday he is staying the course on gold even though there may be more short-term volatility in the price of the metal.
* Barrick Gold Corp, making a painful adjustment to a sustained slump in bullion prices, reported progress in controlling costs on Wednesday and said it planned further cuts in capital spending, sending its shares higher. MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares edged higher on Thursday, supported by views that the recent run of weak global economic data will encourage major central banks to keep or deepen their monetary stimulus to bolster growth.
* US crude futures extended gains for a sixth day on Thursday after rising 2.5 percent a day earlier, supported by a big drop in US gasoline inventories and speculation that a glut of crude at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub could soon ease.